Pastor Frank carefully descended the steep mountainside toward the raging river in the gorge below. He was on his way to hold meetings in a mountain village in the heart of Papua New Guinea. Because there are no roads in the area, the only way to reach the village was to follow the narrow path.

Zounchémé never wore shoes. Not in the fields, not at home, not when he walked to the nearby village. It was not poverty that made him go barefoot. He had make a deal with the devil and the evil spirits that if they made him powerful, he would not wear shoes, for he received his power from the devil through his feet.

As I stared out at the ocean, looking but not really seeing, I felt the rest of the world slipping away, and my past, the ghosts of time, invaded my mind and clouded my vision. “God where are you? You’re supposed to be protecting me!”